"How does it feel?"
"It feels… kind of easy."
That was Rei's honest first impression.
Whenever a monster appeared, he simply aimed and released a spell.
Every single one was a one-shot kill.
They posed no threat whatsoever.
"Mmm. With your current strength, this dungeon truly doesn't present much difficulty for you."
"But what if you didn't have Illumination?"
At Iz's question, Rei thought for a moment before answering.
"It would probably be very difficult."
Without Illumination, he wouldn't have been able to see those bats.
Nor would he have detected the black panthers hidden in the shadows the moment they entered the open cavern.
If he had failed to react in time, he might have been caught off guard.
If struck in a vital area—
He could very well have died.
Especially since their party didn't have a healer.
"You've already mastered Fireball, Wind Blade, and Ice Spike to a degree comparable to other Level 1 mages who have trained for decades."
"And even so, you could still be injured in a dungeon like this. You could even die."
"All because you might fail to accurately assess the potential dangers within."
"That's why most parties include an Observer to gather intelligence."
"That's usually my role."
Rei nodded slowly, gaining a deeper understanding of dungeon dynamics.
At the center of this wide cavern stood a massive treasure chest.
Rei did not approach it immediately.
Instead, he bombarded the area around the chest with Ice Spikes and Fireballs—
And even launched a few Ice Spikes directly at the chest itself.
Only after that did he move closer.
Iz gave a slight nod of approval.
Cautious enough.
Unlike certain reckless rookie adventurers who rushed at treasure chests the moment they saw one.
Some chests could be [Mimics]. If uncertain, throwing a few spells at them was a reasonable precaution.
"The black panthers just now were the chest's guardians. If you hadn't spotted them and approached recklessly, they would've attacked the moment you tried to open it."
Rei's mouth twitched slightly.
"That's… devious."
Iz replied calmly, "But it's safe now. You can open it."
Rei opened the chest.
Inside—
One silver coin.
And a bronze sword.
Such a large chest, yet so little loot.
The gap between expectation and reality felt… significant.
「Bronze Sword」「Quality: Fine」「Decent Sharpness」「Special Effect: Increases Slash Power (Activated by Level 1 Warrior)」
Pretty ordinary equipment.
Rei handed the Bronze Sword to Iz, who stored it away.
"Not bad. It should sell for about 1 silver and 50 copper."
1 silver 50 copper.
Rei recalled that during yesterday's meal, Kumironi had paid 23 copper—
For four people.
Now that he was in another world, he really needed to understand the cost of living.
He couldn't keep spending their money forever. At the very least, he needed to cover his own expenses.
Once he earned something, he would repay his lodging fees first.
After carefully scanning the surroundings to confirm no additional threats remained, Rei walked over to the fallen monsters.
Iz began explaining.
"Shadow Hunt Panthers. Tier-Two monsters."
"They specialize in hiding within shadows and ambushing. They live in groups, usually no more than twenty."
"Their attack methods are similar to wild panther-type monsters—purely physical. No magical attacks."
"But they are extremely agile. Combined with group tactics and their natural terrain advantage, they can cause serious trouble for rookie adventurer parties."
"They're even responsible for wiping out quite a few teams. According to statistics from the Kingdom of Loren, about 1.7% of rookie adventurers who died this year were killed by them."
"That's already a very high proportion."
Dungeons contained all manner of bizarre monsters and countless dangers.
For Shadow Hunt Panthers alone to account for 1.7% of rookie adventurer deaths—
That was indeed a high number.
After all, besides them, there were dungeon lords and other powerful entities.
Rei couldn't help but remark, "So they're truly dangerous monsters."
Iz nodded.
"However, their pelts sell for a good price."
"The meat is quite delicious, and their teeth and bones can be used to craft bone equipment."
"A complete Shadow Hunt Panther can sell for around 2 silver."
"But after deducting the costs of skinning, butchering, and extracting bones, you'd only take home 1 silver 20 copper."
"And the ones you killed have damaged pelts. Realistically, you'd probably get around 75 copper."
Eh…
From 2 silver down to 75 copper.
That was a drastic drop.
"If we had a Gatherer in the party, they could process them into complete materials."
"No need to commission others. Even with some pelt damage, it could be salvaged somewhat."
"Even if we couldn't get the full 2 silver, we'd still fetch at least 1 silver 90 copper."
The value suddenly jumped to more than double.
A Gatherer truly was essential.
Fighting monsters while keeping corpses intact—
That was too demanding.
Iz wasn't just having him kill monsters blindly.
He was teaching him dungeon fundamentals.
A good teacher.
Iz placed his hand on one of the Shadow Hunt Panther skulls, a faint magic circle lighting up beneath his palm.
"Oh? It actually has this."
With a flash—
A dark crystal materialized in his hand.
"Dark Crystal."
"A crystallization of dark-element energy. Monsters can evolve to higher tiers because of these."
"It's a material for crafting dark-element staves. It can also be used to forge weapons with dark-element corrosion effects."
"And by sensing dark elements through it, one can perceive them more clearly. It's beneficial for learning magic."
"Perceive dark elements?"
Rei extended his senses.
The cavern was indeed filled with flowing darkness.
Those must be dark-element particles.
Iz handed him the crystal.
"Try it."
Rei took the Dark Crystal.
He held it, attempting to sense the surroundings.
He felt… no difference.
Even after injecting mana into it—
The result was the same.
Rei shook his head.
"There's no difference."
Iz smiled faintly.
"That's because your innate elemental perception is already at the highest level."
"I've conducted resonance tests with many students."
"The vast majority of mages, when they first change classes, can only sense two or three elements—and only faintly."
"They can perceive their existence, but not directly manipulate them."
"So when you completed your class change and immediately condensed flame in your palm, that's why Kumironi was so delighted."
"Most people need external items like Dark Crystals, Light Crystals, Fire Crystals, and so on to strengthen their connection to elements. Only then can they gradually sense more."
So…
His talent really was that powerful.
He truly was a genius mage.
Iz's explanation gave Rei a renewed understanding of his own aptitude.
Iz took back the Dark Crystal.
"This one can sell for 20 silver."
"It's enough to allow a mage who cannot sense dark elements to establish a weak connection."
"But for a Dark Crystal to drop here…"
Iz glanced toward the cavern ceiling.
"Perhaps this is a sign that the Harvest Moon will arrive earlier than expected…"